Walesdad
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Posts posted by Walesdad
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Working my way through the three LA Forum shows from March '75, otherwise known as the 'Deep Throat' box set. Nice audience sound and a decent addition to anyone's collection.
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Going by the likes of "Coda" and the bonus tracks on the reissues of the back catalogue, the studio recordings well would seem to be dry. Whatever does come out officially would have to be fresh live material. Would the surviving members leave that material alone before release, or would they feel the need to stitch in vocals from another concert or truncate a guitar solo here and there ? The best stuff is already out there in Zeppelinland and is free to trade, download or buy. Dive in head first and enjoy the actual live recordings of the greatest rock band that ever plugged in.
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3 hours ago, Strider said:
Yes, The Who's Charlton gig is legendary.
So was the Vetch Field, Swansea show, at least in my house. The Who, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Little Feat, The Outlaws, Streetwalkers and Widowmaker all for £4.00 ! Happy days.
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Berkeley, August 14th '71 ( Going To California )
New York , February 12th '75 ( Madison Square Graffiti )
Osaka , September 29th '71 ( 929 Winston remasters )
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I've been tempted to give 'Moby Dick'/'Over The Top' a miss on occasion but I've always got through to the end of the piece, usually with gritted teeth.
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On 9/30/2021 at 11:12 PM, Strider said:
9/29/71. Osaka night #2. 50 years gone. Listening to these 1971 Japanese tour shows in such a concentrated dose has reminded me what a rude, condescending jerk Robert Plant sometimes sounds like in his comments to the Japanese crowd. Hey bub, it does not reflect well on your band if you have to ask them to wake up. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Who never had to ask their crowds to wake up. I seem to recall Plant doing the same at one of the 1975 shows…maybe it was Dallas? Maybe cut out the 30 minute solos and people won't fall asleep.
Oh well…a great show otherwise. Although I now think maybe the 28th is better in some parts.
I'd like to think that, if he ever listens back to some of those live performances, that even the singer would be a little embarrassed by some of his comments to audiences over the years.
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Soundboards are all well and good, but give me a decent quality audience recording any day. They are the ones that sound like you are actually listening to a live show.
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The post above refers to New York, Feb.12th '75.
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Of the American shows I've heard from '75 this is just about my favourite. The title I've got, ' Madison Square Graffiti ', has terrific sound with a nice amount of live crowd noise.
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On 5/26/2021 at 11:51 AM, John M said:
Wow. Matrix version. Hats of to Led Zeppelin Rarities !! The bass sounds ever better.
This sounds pretty damn fine to me.
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4 hours ago, Wish said:
Hey folks,
Wondering if anyone here has any knowledge of this Earls Court set? I can't seem to find much information about it online aside from two conflicting pieces of information that indicate its a Bootleg of either 75 or 300 copies depending on which you believe.
Does anyone know anything more about its origin or how rare it really is? My father in law gave it to me to add to my collection and had it from his deceased brother, he knows nothing about it other than it was bought in Vancouver in the 80's. It looks as it they've never been played to be honest.
Cheers!
Beautiful looking release, I would imagine that there cannot be too many of these about in the condition it looks to be in. Other information on it looks to be very sparse.
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On 5/9/2021 at 9:16 PM, Strider said:
This is a question some of the Brits will be better qualified to answer than the rest of us, but I have always wondered if the 1975 Earls Court gigs would be better remembered and ranked higher by Zeppelin fans if they had played those shows at the Rainbow Theatre, Empire Pool, Hammersmith Odeon, or Royal Albert Hall instead? In other words, did the dull, dark, dead acoustical atmosphere of Earls Court as a venue contribute to the overall leaden feeling of the gigs themselves?
Could it be the case that the Earls Court shows are not as well regarded by some because the recordings of them are generally not top notch? While desk recordings exist of the final two nights, the audience tapes that are available are, while enjoyable, not a patch on some of the American shows from that or other years.
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4 hours ago, Devo53 said:
Going to California
A great show and one of my absolute favourites.
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On 4/1/2021 at 6:51 PM, Strider said:
Crankin' this at work for its 50TH ANNIVERSARY! April 1, 1971 Paris Theatre, London for the BBC. This broadcast was the first broadcast of any of the Led Zeppelin IV songs to the public at large. Unless you were one of the people who attended the Spring 1971 UK tour shows, this was the first time most people at that time were able to hear "Black Dog", "Going to California", and "Stairway to Heaven".
This is a great release in fantastic sound. Well, well worth a listen.
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13 hours ago, Ghaal said:
Yeah, it´s always fun to read their descriptions.
Some of the stuff I've seen on there has been hysterical, but I am surprised that they don't get someone who is more fluent in English to do those translations. Mind you, their English is better than my Japanese (non existent).
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The site 'Giginjapan.com' is not only a good place to go for what is new in the world of shiny silver discs, if can also provide some much needed unintentional humour as well. Some of the sites English translations have been stone cold classics over the years but I think that they have now outdone themselves. A new release of the Sydney Showgrounds show from 1972 includes those old favourites ' Snowdonia's Hut ' (I'm guessing they mean 'Bron Yr Aur Stomp'), ' Ai Full Of Heart ' (No me neither) and ' What Is And What Shoulder Be' ( I'm guessing ' What Is And What Should Never Be'). Well,it made me smirk.
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7 hours ago, AchillesLastBand said:
Re: whether Paris Theatre is a true boot- you made a solid case, and I now tend to agree with you. My basis for not considering it so was just that much of the show has been officially released. But the unofficial, complete and remastered show (and it is complete, to my knowledge also), with a different, superior mix, really is a very different thing. And I'd like to have it counted as a boot, so that it could take its rightful place as one of their very best shows ever, I think.
Re: edited releases, I also totally agree. I mean, a few vocal overdubs on the TSRTS album are one thing, but HTWWW is so extensively falsified that I would have trouble listening to it even if I thought the performances were as good as Page's hype for it suggested he thinks they are, which they really aren't in my opinion. Incidentally, did you know that Plant actually hit the Lady at the 6/25 Forum show, which of course, Page did NOT choose to put on that "live" album? Hilarious. Instead we get Plant not hitting it on 6/27, and my most-hated Plant ad-lib ever: "when all is one and one is all, Yeah that's what it IS!".
I haven't yet heard that '70 Montreux you mentioned and will listen to it.
Cheers,
ALB
I honestly have never had any interest in the officially released live albums, with the exception of the 'BBC Sessions' original double, and I've never heard any of them. I can see the remaining band members point about these releases being their legacy and I know that news of any new archive release obviously comes with certain expectations but, as I've said, patched in vocals, pointless editing down the length of guitar solos and general chopping and changing do nothing for me at all. The example you've given above from that Forum show illustrates things perfectly. Just why doctor a genuine live recording? Good luck in hunting down that Montreux show. I have just revisited it and it really is an excellent audience recording of a terrific 1970 performance. Going by the little I've heard from that year, it really was a good one for them. Cheers.
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8 hours ago, AchillesLastBand said:
Re: 4/1/71 Paris Theatre - YES.
I recently did a ranking of the boots I've yet heard, and put an asterisk next to this one, as it's not a true bootleg, but if it were, it would be in my top 5 ever shows.
Sounds like you already have one of the releases that's sourced from a Japan FM broadcast that has a better stereo mix than the original? Plant is amazing. It's evident that the whole band made a point of just nailing this show due to its importance, being broadcast on BBC. Stairway is one of my all-time favorites. So is Immigrant Song and SIBLY (maybe Plant's best ever performance on it; also Bonzo does a very cool off-beat rhythm thing leading into one of the verses that the band nails). Will listen to this one again soon.
ALB
The title I have of this show is indeed of a Japanese broadcast and the sound quality is fantastic. I would be interested to know why you do not consider it a true 'boot'. As it includes, to the best of my knowledge, the complete show, and not the truncated versions that have been officially released, does that not qualify it? As a side note to Mr.Page, Jimmy why not just release these archive shows as they are? I can live live with the odd off key vocal or the occasional clanger dropped on the guitar. I think a fair number of fans would agree. I want to hear what that band of yours sounded like and played on that given night in New York, L.A., London, Tokyo or wherever. I really don't want patched in vocals from different shows or guitar solo's manipulated to alleged perfection, I'd like it completely, absolutely, on the night LIVE. Cheers.
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If it really was down to one choice, and for a few sentimental reasons, I'd plump for 'Conquistador' (Earls Court Arena, London, 25/5/75. Its an excellent sounding soundboard, with a few audience patches, of the last show of the five at this venue. The sentimentality comes in with the fact that I was there with my then girlfriend, who's now my wife, and the excitement of actually seeing Led Zeppelin was something I can still remember today.) I would though also give honourable mentions to 'Going To California' (Berkeley, 14/9/71, a simply thunderous show and a must have), ' V1/2' (Seattle, 17/7/73 and available in many various guises and titles, another must have), 'Budokan 1972, 1st Night' (Tokyo, 2/10/72. Once again, been released a zillion times under various titles. I know Robert struggles here and there and many would say that the band have played better but I've always been fond of this tour. It might just be because the audiences are so respectful and, in places, quiet that you can really hear what the group are doing on stage), 'BBC 1971' ( London, 1/4/71, the complete, unedited performance in terrific sound and a show that has made more comebacks than Frank Sinatra. Purists may well argue that there are better performances out there from this year, there probably are, but this one, for me, has an intimacy that is lovely) and finally 'Divinity' (Montreux, 14/3/70, a really good sounding audience recording of a terrific show.) Thank the stars for those intrepid individuals who took along their tape recorders all those years ago.
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A piece that the band played that, for me, never got tedious and was always enjoyable to hear. In my opinion, 1975 was the peak for this atmospheric monster of a live set piece.
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1 hour ago, AchillesLastBand said:
I was considering posting the following as a new topic, but it didn't seem like the kind of thing that's welcome, as opposed to more year- or show-specific discussions, but I just made this list and thought it might generate (or outright provoke) some interesting discussion.
The rankings are a product of both the performance and sound quality.
THE 30 SHOWS I'VE HEARD, WORST TO BEST
30. - 77/05/21, Houston, TX ("How The Time Flies"). A soundboard even, and a good Achilles. But I now find the "metallic" quality of the sound grating.
29. - 77/05/22, Ft. Worth, TX ("Hideout"). Good Kashmir and IMTOD. But watch out for the ear-splitting feedback at the end of "Sick Again" (seriously).
28. - 77/06/27, The Forum ("Sunset"). Not bad. Just the weakest of the run (I've yet to hear 6/26).
27. - 71/11/24, Free Trade Hall, Manchester ([pernod rev. 3]). A really good show from a really bad tape. Plant's in great voice.
26. - 71/09/11, War Memorial Hall, Rochester, NY. Similar to Manchester, but incomplete. Plant's just a bit worse; doesn't hit Stairway here. Somehow I ranked it one spot higher. Maybe the tape is a little better. I think that's why.
25. - 73/05/13, Mobile Municipal Auditorium, AL. A decent sounding board. Plant is in pretty rough shape. I like the laid-back jazzy No Quarter courtesy of Jonesy's keys.
24. - 71/08/31, Orlando Civic Auditorium ("Florida Sunshine"). Good Black Dog. Not a particularly great show. Plant only half-hits Stairway (hits it in full voice initially and then it cracks during the note).
23. - 71/08/21, The Forum ([dadgad remaster]). Good audience recording. Sloppy show. Several glaring flubs.
22. - 71/09/29, Festival Hall, Osaka. Soundboard (mostly). Rock and Roll swings. Plant is straining. They play "Friends" which is cool. I don't like this show.
21. - 77/06/23, The Forum - For Badgeholders Only. A well-played show apart from, yes, a full 45 second-long trainwreck during Kashmir. The sound quality is good.
20. - 77/06/21, The Forum - Listen to This, Eddie ("Mike the Mike"). As someone previously said, this show peaks with the first song, which granted is arguably the best "Song Remains" ever due to Bonzo, and Jimmy pulling it together and playing some great, fluid lines. I also think the "Nobody's Fault" is very good here, and seems underappreciated.
19. - 79/07/24, Copenhagen Warm-ups, 2nd Night. A pretty tight show with some great playing from Jimmy. Love hearing "In The Evening". The sound is rather treble-y unfortunately.
18. - 73/07/17, Seattle Center Coliseum ([SBD-AUD matrix version]). An excellent DaC and a pretty good "Over The Hills", MMH and The Ocean. Bonzo is good and Plant is alright.
17. - 72/02/27, Sydney Showground [Dogs of Doom 2021]. A really well-played show and Plant is at least one whole level above where he would be just a few months later in the states, to my knowledge. (Incidentally, I recently learned from @goldenretreiver157 that Plant DID hit the "lady" on Stairway on the 6/25 Long Beach performance that Jimmy DIDN'T choose for HTWWW, which is hilarious.) Sound quality-wise, it's really not a bad listen, just somewhat "distant." I rather like this show actually.
16. - 71/03/05, Ulster Hall, Belfast (Wendy Records version). I'd advise getting the WENDY version as my prior "remastered" version has some ear-splitting feedback on Stairway. Aside from the show that I've ranked #2, this is about as peak Plant as it gets. They'd just finished IV and are tearing through these new songs perhaps a tad faster than otherwise. I have no problem listening to this tape.
15. - 75/05/24, Earl's Court @ZepHead315 Remaster. Great sound quality and a fantastic "Trampled." I'm not terribly familiar with '75 generally but this is a really good show for the boys.
14. - 77/06/25, The Forum - Badgeholders Annual Meeting. A great show with one of the greatest Kashmir's ever. Sound quality is maybe a tad below 6/23 but still good.
13. - 70/03/21, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC ("Pure Blues"). Plant's actually in a relative valley here: he's a step below where he was a year ago, and and a step and a half below where he would be in September. Still, he's great on SIBLY, to the extent that it probably makes it a contender for top 10 ever. Partial soundboard and the sound quality is excellent.
12. - 70/09/04, The Forum - Ultimate Blueberry Hill (Nite Owl 2019 matrix). This is a great show that suffers from being in the same month as a much, much greater show. The sound quality is great though. A nice listen.
11. - 73/03/21, Musikhalle, Hamburg ("It's Complete" [dadgad remaster]). A rockin' Black Dog, a great DaC, AND a great Stairway. The latter two are mostly soundboards. Bonzo is HOT. As is Pagey.
10. - 71/09/14, Berkeley Community Theatre, CA ("Going To California" [dadgad 24-bit remaster]). A great-sounding audience recording. A very good show. Plant is good, not great.
09. - 69/04/27, Live at Fillmore West (CA) [Nite Owl 2019 matrix]. JPJ and Bonzo are bringin' the heat, and Jimmy's command of the blues is probably higher here than at any other time period. His guitar tone is nasty and so is his playing. Plant is strong.
08. - 71/11/20, Empire Pool, Wembley, LD ("Electric Magic" [2020 Graf Zeppelin release]). Merely decent (but importantly, sonically-consistent) audience recording, but THIS SHOW IS FIRE. Percy's back hittin the highs with ease. All-time greats of SIBLY, Rock and Roll, DaC, and maybe a Top 5 Stairway solo EVER. Plant hits "lady" because this show is fire. Also includes the cleanest, best "Tangerine" I've yet heard.
07. - 69/11/07, Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco [2021 Dogs of Doom]. THUMPING sound and a roaring performance all-around. The best White Summer / Black Mountain Side on tape. Heartbreaker slays. So does DaC and HMMT. Again, the sound of this audience recording absolute rules, especially with the hard work of DoD.🙏
06. - 71/05/03, K.B.-Hallen, Copenhagen, DK ("Stick Out!"). If you want to hear Plant nearest his peak playing songs from IV in decent fidelity, this is the show. Black Dog is a Top 5 ever. SIBLY also a Top 5 due to everyone, especially Plant. Stairway is awesome. CB is awesome. An essential bootleg.
05. 77/06/22, The Forum - Thirty Years Gone. I think their best of these shows, and one I never tire of hearing. Probably my favorite Achilles ever. John Bonham. Only known time on Stairway that Pagey skips the extra four bars and goes straight to the solo as on the album.
04. 77/04/28, Richfield Coliseum, OH (2019 JEMS/Winston remaster of "Rocco C. master tape"). In my opinion Bonzo's best-ever show post-'71. This show is nothing like the previous night. Miles ahead. A Top 5 Ten Years Gone (perhaps the very best), and the sickest transition from White Summer / Black Mountain Side to Kashmir ever, itself a version rivalling or exceeding 77/06/25, in my book. Bonzo's comping during Jimmy's Stairway solo is perfection. An all-time great Rock and Roll. Near to the end, Bonzo mid-measure just blows through several bars with a syncopated 6/8 snare roll. The best. The ambience of this show is unique. The recording might be called only "above-average" (conservatively), but crank it and it rocks as hard as anything. As a bonus, even "Over The Top" and Jimmy's "solo" are rather compelling, seriously!
03. 73/01/22, Southampton University @SteveZ98's "The Stereo Project". I'm comin in hot on this one as I've just listened to it once, for the first time today, but it IS THAT GOOD. Performance-wise, it blows away any other '73 boot aside from 3/21 Hamburg, and the sound is all killer no filler. For my money, THE BEST "Over The Hills" EVER and all-time greats of "Song Remains" and "The Rain Song". Page's Stairway solo is badgeholder-level.
02. 70/09/19, MSG Evening ("One More For The Road"). Simply the greatest Led Zeppelin show we have on tape. Plant's best show. Pretty much all of their best shows. Bonham still has those insane kick-drum chops. Everything rules.
01. 71/09/23, Budokan Hall, Tokyo @ZepHead315 remaster "Tobacco Road". This gets the nod because it includes material from IV. Plant is still in EXCELLENT voice. A good audience recording from a few different tapers. The best WLL ever. A Top 3 Stairway, with maybe Page's best solo on a bootleg. It's flawless. Plant nails it and sings the whole thing beautifully. The best Immigrant Song ever. Thunderous. Along with #2, a virtually perfect show that I never tire of hearing.
* If the newest, remastered version of the complete 71/04/01 Paris Cinema Theatre, LD show (most of which is on some form or another of "BBC Sessions") were a true bootleg, it would be in my top 5. Also, 73/03/24 Offenburg is a very good/great show I just can't listen to due to the left channel fluttering issue (and the mono version of it is just not good).
Thanks for indulging me.
ALB
Indulgent my behind, this is a terrific read composed with passion. Thanks.
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I haven't been on this page for a while, anything been happening ? 😉
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I'm no expert but I've never read, heard, or even fallen over in the street any reference to the band performing Free's 'Heartbreaker', good luck in that search.
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Fantastic, looking forward to this.
New Complete Japan '71 live album (Tarantura)
in Led Zeppelin Live
Posted
This thing will be horribly expensive and, I fear, just a quick tweak here and there of already available recordings. I hope I'm wrong on both counts though and if it is a serious upgrade in sound or completeness I'll be buying the cheaper versions when they start to trickle out. Thanks for sharing.